Leonard Cohen announces first album in 8 years

Leonard Cohen puts out albums about as often as Thomas Pynchon guest judges on America’s Got Talent. But the singer-songwriter announced today on his official website that he will be releasing his first collection of new music in eight years on January 31.

Cohen’s twelfth studio album is called Old Ideas and “poetically addresses some of the most profound questions of human existence — spirituality, love, sexuality, loss and death.”

The deep-voiced Canadian icon — and, lest a thousand warbling American Idol hopefuls forget, the original composer and singer of “Hallelujah” — has also released an album teaser in the form of the song “Show Me the Place,” which you can hear below (it’s available as an instant download to fans who pre-order the CD):